Return of the Immortal Emperor Daddy-Chapter 186: The Black and White Grocery Store

On this day, Zhang Jiuling was still kneeling in front of the inn where Wu Tian and the little one were staying. This inn, located next to the square, was crowded with people. Many came to watch the spectacle, not understanding why Zhang Jiuling was kneeling there.

After Wu Tian came out holding the little one, Zhang Jiuling immediately kowtowed and said, "Master, my heart is as firm as iron, unbreakable. I love the culinary arts and long for the Martial Path. I hope you can fulfill my wish."

The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion. They didn’t understand what Zhang Jiuling wanted to learn, but seeing how earnest he was, many were moved enough to shout in his support.

"Just take him in."

"Yeah, I saw this man kneeling here at five in the morning. Please fulfill his wish."

"A person with such determination is rare. Whatever he wants to learn, just teach it to him."

A group of onlookers, completely ignorant of the situation, began to voice their opinions one by one.

BANG!

BANG!

Muffled thuds echoed. It turned out that Zhang Jiuling, seeing how supportive the crowd was, felt he needed to step up his efforts. He began to bang his forehead heavily on the ground, creating the dull sound.

He had great confidence in this approach. He had once gone abroad to study, hoping to learn the culinary techniques of different countries. However, he was rejected because he was from the Dragon Country. What Zhang Jiuling wanted was not just any culinary skill, but the unique secret techniques of each country’s most exclusive restaurants. How could such skills be taught to him?

Later, he came up with this strategy. The first time he used this tactic, he knelt at the doorstep of a master chef in Korea, day after day, until he finally moved the man. Later, he knelt before a master chef in Fusang and was successful once again. He had used this tactic to great effect.

This time, Wu Tian did not sidestep Zhang Jiuling but instead walked toward him.

Noticing this, Zhang Jiuling continued to kowtow enthusiastically, shouting, "My heart holds only the culinary arts, and I am willing to give my all for it."

He was ecstatic; he had finally succeeded! Once he learned the Way of Culinary Cultivation, the Imperial Kitchen could become a genuine Jianghu sect. And he, Zhang Jiuling, was destined to become a legend in the history of the Imperial Kitchen, his name recorded for posterity.

I have always been the one doing the scheming. When has anyone ever managed to scheme against me?

In everyone’s eyes, Wu Tian remained silent. However, he used a subtle Dharma to project his voice into a fine thread of sound that entered Zhang Jiuling’s ears alone. "Those who scheme against me must pay the price. You’d better get out of here right now. Soon, you’re going to become a vegetable."

With that, Wu Tian left, carrying the little one.

Zhang Jiuling knelt in place, his face blank and his mind reeling. He hadn’t expected that this tactic, which had worked on the Koreans, the Fusangs, and others, would fail so utterly against Wu Tian. But what surprised him even more were Wu Tian’s last words.

He would become a vegetable? Could it be true?

Zhang Jiuling’s first priority now was to hurry back, get his father Zhang Xiguan, and go to the hospital. This was Longjing; it had the Dragon Country’s finest medical teams.

When the onlookers saw Wu Tian leave without saying a word, they approached, wanting to comfort Zhang Jiuling. But the current Zhang Jiuling had no time for them.

"Get out of my way!" he shouted angrily when he saw the onlookers blocking his path.

The onlookers were stunned and involuntarily stepped aside. Just a moment ago, they had believed this young man was truly sincere, someone willing to kneel for knowledge—an earnest figure who seemed like a modern version of the scholar in the classic tale "Standing in the Snow at Cheng’s Gate." They never expected to have been so thoroughly fooled.

Wu Tian’s purpose on this trip to Longjing was to find his father, but he had no leads. He called Lin Zhan, who had just finished some business in the city, and the bored Mouse Tooth, and they went to Shuimu University again.

To his dismay, Wu Cheng’en was missing. Wu Tian asked several students, but while they were also worried about the professor, they had no information either.

Has the family behind me realized I’m investigating? Did they recall him?

The only useful piece of information he obtained from the students was a single sentence: "Professor Wu Cheng’en often visits a grocery store in Liuli Factory called ’Black and White.’"

A grocery store named "Black and White" piqued Wu Tian’s interest. Black and white can represent Heaven and Earth, or Qiankun. They are the colors of the game of Go. Many who love Go are fascinated by this Dao of black and white. He who can grasp black and white can control the world! Of course, these were just his own musings for now.

Wu Tian and the others walked for a while and finally arrived outside the Black and White grocery store in Liuli Factory.

Mouse Tooth said gravely, "I’m from Liuli Factory, so I know this place well. This Black and White grocery store... it’s very mysterious."

"Very mysterious?" Hearing these words from Mouse Tooth made Wu Tian and the others take notice. Mouse Tooth had followed Yao Sijiu on countless Tomb Raiding expeditions; if he called something mysterious, it was bound to be anything but simple.

"You all know that from ancient times to the present, dynasties have risen and fallen. That’s an inevitable rule. However..." He paused, his expression extremely solemn. "Rumor has it that this Black and White grocery store has always existed. It was here before Liuli Factory even came to be. Some say that wherever the Imperial Capital is, Black and White is there, too. In ancient times, Black and White might have been a post station, a government office, an inn, a restaurant, or even a brothel. But the one constant is... it has always been in the Imperial Capital."

"That sounds a bit too mystical," Lin Zhan said, unconvinced. "It’s hard to believe. Even great families decline over time; how could it always exist?"

"That’s why I said it’s a rumor," Mouse Tooth retorted, rolling his eyes. "But Yao Sijiu used to say that rumors are three parts truth and seven parts lies. As long as that one-third of it is true, you should treat the whole thing as fact in your heart, just to be safe."

Wu Tian remained silent. The only way to find the truth was to see it for himself. Carrying the little one, he walked straight into the Black and White grocery store.

The grocery store appeared small from the outside, but it was surprisingly spacious within. The real space was on a subterranean level of at least several hundred square meters, its shelves dazzlingly arrayed with all sorts of products. There were peculiar items like "This Year’s College Entrance Exam Paper," "Certain Company’s Secret Information," "Dragon Country’s Top Ten Talents Ranking," and so forth.

Seeing Wu Tian and his party enter, a Servant who appeared to be in his thirties came forward to greet them. He wore reading glasses and offered a gentle smile. "Honored guests, fate has brought you here. May I ask what you wish to purchase? As long as you can name it, we most likely have it."

Although the words were audacious, the Servant’s gentle tone made them seem perfectly reasonable and inoffensive.

Before Wu Tian could say anything, the little one called out, "I want a very powerful weapon. Do you have the Ruyi Jingu Bang?"